route. 10:00 a.m. eastern time. fingers out we get to ohio and back with exclusive interview with the house speaker. martha: good luck with that. new yorkers hang in there new jersey. happening now starts right now. jon: we begin with a fox news alert. now governor mitt romney is set to begin speaking any moment. you're looking live at a campaign rally outside milwaukee, wisconsin we're told the governor will deliver what his top aides are calling the start of his closering arguments to the american people. the message he will take to the battleground states across the country in the final four days. when the governor starts speaking we will take you there live. also this fox news alert. the east coast slowly coming back to life, very slowly, after superstorm sandy but we see more heartbreaking scenes of destruction every day. mounting frustration as well over delayed relief.

widespread power outages. huge gas lines. good morning, i'm jon scott. jenna: the storm has passed but this is not over. jon: the after math forever. jenna: hi, everybody, i'm jenna lee. "happening now" we have new information on the death toll that now stands more than 90. nearly four million homes and businesses still in the dark. across the region home after home completely destroyed. the new york city borough of staten island, one of hardest hit places of all. 19 people killed there including two little boys. we told you about them earlier this week. they were ripped from their mother's arms as they tried to escape the raging storm surge the they got stuck in an suv they got out and tried to get away and she couldn't hang onto them. homeland security secretary janet napolitano plans to tour the area later today. meantime homeowners in queens are trying to come to grips with all of this loss. >> everything was floating. everything is a disaster.

it's gone. >> i just spent $30,000 getting my home repaired and it's all gone. >> we left here for two hours to get laundry to wash clothes to where. somebody came in a crowbar broke into the both apartments there is nothing for them to steal. >> there are people with kids. they need need diapers, clothes, coats, shoes, socks, anything at all. >> you see it on tv and happening elsewhere, you say a prayer for them. that was it. now they're praying for us. jenna: with the transit system still operating at reduces capacity this is what a lot of roads are looking like across the region. that is certainly affecting supplies getting to people that need help. millions are facing huge traffic jams trying to make it work any way that they can. jon: if the fight, the fight for fuel in new york and new jersey is any indication, things are getting desperate. damage from the storms disrupting fuel deliveries

forcing gas stations to close. causing enormous lines, like, this one you see in new york city. police arrested one man after he tried to cut in line at a gas station and pointed a gun at mother motorist who complained. that is the kind of thing that is happening. according to aaa 60% of the stations in new jersey and 70% of the stations on new york's long island are either closed or have no fuel. we will have much more on this in a live report just ahead. jenna: certainly is one of our biggest stories of the day. also a big story is this one. we have a new jobs report today, the last one before election day and election day is only four days away. jobs are a very key issue this election year as we all know. the unemployment rate inched up in october slightly to the 7.9% that is up from 7.8% the month before. the president reacting to the latest numbers during a campaign stop this morning in ohio. you saw a little bit of that. ohio being one of the most important battleground states of them all.

take a listen. >> this morning we learned that companies hired more workers in october than at any time in the last eight months. [applause] jenna: bob o'brien, with us a veteran business reporter and market watcher overall. nice to see you. >> good morning, jenna. great to be with you. jenna: tell me a little about the numbers. we'll hear a lot from either side. what is the number we see today on the job market really mean? >> this is a great number for the economy. it basically mirrors what we're seeing in the growth of the gdp. we're seeing the trend moving in the right direction. the numbers have been improving for 29 consecutive months in terms of jobs growth. however, at the same anemic pace we're seeing with gdp. gdp of 2% or less. we're seeing job growth averaging somewhere around $150,000. i would point out that the positive revisions to the two previous months actually

bowie the numbers overall. a good number for the economy. jenna: 150,000 jobs added what we're seeing every month. some people say listen that is barely enough to keep up with population growth. why isn't it faster, bob? why aren't we seeing more growth, more jobs? >> because corporations are holding money on their books. though don't know what the regulatory overhang is going to be. they don't know the outcome of the election and they don't know associated costs for things like health care, as well as other benefits that are out there. so rather than make the investment in employees, they're waiting and keeping money just on hand. at some point they could unleash that and we could start to see this. keep in mind, however, jenna, employment is always a lagging indicator in an economic recession. and this has been a long, long, unusual recession. and so it's not that

surprising that we're seeing that the job picture is as anemic in terms of growth as it's been. jenna: what are you watching for in the months ahead, bob, as you look ahead to not only the election but the fiscal cliff everyone is talking about as well? that is a big issue post-election. what do you think could be a tippingpoint for the economy either in a good direction or a bad direction? >> i think the balance of the scale is tilted towards the bad. for one thing, the storm is going to have a big impact on the, on the october numbers that we will be seeing or the november numbers that we'll be getting, in early december. it is just going to be devastating. that however is going to be a blip. however, we have got at very brief window once the election is over before there is either an obama administration for a second time or a new mitt romney

administration. and we'll have a very brief period for a very polarized congress to try to come up with some sort of a solution to the fiscal cliff. now i think both sides want it to happen, however, there is, there has been some stubbornness on the part of both sides on some very key issues and the fiscal cliff would represent a departure in the gdp. we could actually end up seeing gdp growth, closer to zero and that's going to show up in jobs numbers. jenna: that is good context for us because whoever wins the election next week on tuesday that same congress is returning and that same congress will have to deal with some very big problems we have ahead for us in the country over next couple months. great to see you again. >> thanks very much for having me. jon: well, recovery from superstorm sandy has an additional component now. the ongoing search for gasoline in new york and

new jersey. patience also in short supply across that region as drivers who actually can find a gas station open have to deal with lines like this one stretching literally for miles. >> no gas. they just closed. >> oh, my god. >> how long have you been waiting? >> about an hour. >> an hour? >> yeah. >> and you're down to e? >> almost. >> so now what are you going to do? >> i got to ride around and keep looking? >> no did you hear the bad news. >> no, what is it? they're out of gas, no gas. >> for real? >> for real. how long have you been waiting? >> about an hour. >> what's next? >> i think i will go home and have breakfast wait for my daughter to let me know she had the baby. she is expecting this weekend. that is the good news. jon: so many problems. rick leventhal live in wall township, new jersey. he has latest there for us. rick? >> reporter: jon, we're at a service plaza on the garden

state parkway where drivers are lining up to get fuel. about 80% by some estimates of the new jersey gas stations are not selling gas because they don't have power or ran out of supply. if they don't have power they can't pump gas. in many cases they have thousands of gallons they could pump. in this case they have a generator. that generator is powering the pumps. you have state police here. you see a trooper by the pumps directing traffic. there are more troopers from the other end of this line which stretches to the other side of the service plaza because yesterday the line stretched a couple of miles and people were trying to cut in and that was creating some flared tempers for obvious reasons. how are you doing, sir? how much gas have you got left? >> little over a quarter of a tank. >> reporter: you need the vehicle for work? >> yes. >> reporter: do you have power at home? >> no power. >> reporter: how long have you been waiting? oh right now? i got here 20 of, 30 minutes. >> reporter: 30 minutes is not bad. good luke to you.

we talk what's that? >> up by me, 4 1/2 hours. >> reporter: 4 1/2 hour wait for gasoline. jon, amazing you normally take certain things for granted like food, water and gasoline but in this case you might have to wait several hours to fill up. some people in this line are waiting half an hour 40 minutes to top offer. they have a half tank gas. don't know when they get it again or lines tomorrow so they're getting it now. jon: i seen some situations where police officers were called in and keep order and everybody's tempers down. rick leventhal. thank you. jenna: a lot of big stories to up watch today including this one. stunning developments in the terror attack in benghazi pointing to a massive communications failure. we have latest details on that just ahead. as we mentioned at the top of the show, death toll from sandy continues to rise, we get more terrible images from the destruction. picture from this story is developing. we'll bring you new images

as we get them. new information for next several hours here on fox news. we'll be right back 4g lte is the fastest. so, which supeast 4g lte service would yochoose, based on this chart ? don't rush into it, i'm not looking for the fastest answer. obviously verizon. okay, i have a different chart. going that way, does that make a difference ? look at verizon. it's so much more than the other ones. so what if we just changed the format altogether ? isn't that the exact same thing ? it's pretty clear. still sticking with verizon. verizon. more 4g lte coverage than all other networks combined.

jenna: new information today on the deadly terror attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. fox news obtaining new e-mails shows at the attack unfolded the state department decided not to send a rapid response counterterror unit the terror officials felt cut out of the loop on the night of the assault. all this leaving besieged americans to fend for themselves. at least that is the picture we're starting to get. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge live in washington with more. >> reporter: thank you. based on fox reporting the state department decided not to send a specialized team to benghazi, known as f.e.s.t. team. these teams have been deployed in the event of major terrorist attack and bombing of uss cole in yemen in 2000 and east african bombings in kenya and

tanzania in 1998. a u.s. intelligence official briefed reporters on cia response in to the attack insisted they responsed to the consulate in 30 minutes and there was quote, no hesitation to act that evening. review of secret diplomatic cable by fox news, august 16th a month before the attack consulate and cia leadership in benghazi agreed to work hand-in-glove as security on the ground deteriorated. quote, mission personnel could colocate to the annex. cia outpost is the security environment degraded suddenly. if was agreement a formed a weekly meeting to discuss the security environment. and now there's a growing call from republicans on capitol hill for answers from president obama on the decisions he made during the libyan crisis is. the president has been very public in his involvement in the most recent crisis, hurricane sandy. >> you've got photographs of the president and others in the situation room during the takedown of usama bin laden. you have photographs that came out as a result of their observations relative

to the enormous disaster on the east coast just this week. no picture in the situation room during the unfolding events in libya. >> reporter: fox news has requested these photos from the situation room from the white house and so far there has been no formal response. and within the last few minutes, greta van susteren has reported that the fbi is now on the ground in tunisia to question the only known suspect in custody and significantly this comes after the intervention of republican senator lindsey graham who wrote tot tunisian government requesting questioning why there was a lack of access to the suspect. jenna: senator graham spoke to jon yesterday and mentioned his frustration with that. interesting to watch that side of the story. >> reporter: one point on that. this really begs the question if a senator could intervene with the tunisian government six weeks after the attack and at least a week after the suspect was in custody, why was it that apparently the white house or the justice department didn't take the same course

of action? jenna: sounds like a good question. jon will be discussing this a little bit now. great reporting as always, catherine. thank you. >> reporter: you're welcome. jon: these brand new revelations could bring more political fallout just four-days before the election. let's bring in jonah goldberg, editor-at-large for "national review" and a fox news contributor. want to take you back a week or two, jonah because one of the things president obama said was there were intelligence failures surrounding this whole benghazi fiasco that led to the four dead americans and the sacking of our consulate there. well, if you blame an agency and say okay, it's your fault, you tend to get a little blowback assuming the criticism is misdirected. >> yeah. no, i think that's right and i think some of the stories that we've been hearing about benghazi in the last few weeks from the cia, suggest that some people in the cia and security

services were not all that pleased both with what president obama said and vice president biden said about not being informed and not being in the loop or whatever it was during the vice-presidential debate. and you think what we're seeing in washington right now is this immense turf battle behind the scenes starting to spill over into plain view and it is only because of that speckel that a lot of mainstream media is finally paying attention. jon: why is this story not getting more coverage in the mainstream media? >> you know, i hate to be so reductionist about these kind of things, boils down to the fact it is inconvenient story for the obama campaign and that president obama continually said things that don't square with reality, if you pay attention to that that is bad for obama. you know, this is, the way a lot of the mainstream media responded to this, they responded if this was some sort of unfair october surprise by the romney campaign when in reality this was news. this was real news and the president and his

subordinates, including the bam door to the u.n. and his press spokesman have been saying many untrue things. it hasn't arain showersed attention or interest of mainstream media, and fox and jake tapper and ely lake at "newsweek." tapper is at abc. generally there is no feeding frenzy and that sort of a scandal. jon: you raise a couple interesting comparisons. for instance the story emerged just before the election about george w. bush's then 24-year-old dui conviction. that was an example. you also raised the example of dan rather going after george w. bush about his military service. >> yeah. look i mean, what has two thumbs and thinks the mainstream media is liberal? this guy. it is an old argument and tired argument but not an untrue argument. it seems to me a lot of the mainstream media basically, they are working from the

same cues that the same assumptions that the essentially the democratic party is working from. so in the weeks that the benghazi story has been unfolding and the president has been saying these really outrage justly untrue things about what you ordered, when he ordered it and got all the information outgoing back to susan rise how the cia operatives, basically our ambassador's bodyguards is flatly untrue and no one revisited that. the media is obsessing the war on women and binders and all of this, sort of nonsense about big bird and i think things are. doesn't mean they're insincere but where they get excited lines up with democrats. jon: it's a training world. jonah goldberg, thank you. >> great to be here, thanks. jenna: we're awaiting some live remarks from governor romney. his campaign is talking about this as closing arguments if you will. that's governor walker out in wisconsin by the way.

it is his birthday today. the crowd gave him a rousing happy birthday. that is not bad when you get that. is certainly hard at work campaigning for mitt romney as other high-profile republicans. we'll talk a little about that later on and bring you mitt romney's remarks when he steps to the microphone. we're also watching the dow today. got to keep an eye on the markets. the final jobs report before tuesday's election. it just hit and we're continuing to watch that news. what it means for the economy and markets overall coming up

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jenna: right now the labor department releasing the final jobs report ahead of the presidential election. unemployment right now at 7.9%. 171,000 jobs added last month. with only four days to go until the election the president reacting to these

new numbers today. >> we have made real progress but we are here today because we know we've got more work to do. jenna: governor mitt romney right now is at a rally in wisconsin. when he steps to the microphone we'll take his remarks. they are being shown as the closing, closing argument of the campaign if you will. austan goolsbee, former chair of the president's council economic advisors. he is now a professor at booth school of business at the university of chicago. doug holtz-eakin served as congressional budget office director under president george w. bush. i'm going to put you guys on ice for a second. i apologize but governor romney is stepping to the microphone. we were trying to get them in before we heard from governor romney to get a little perspective on the job market. we'll see some headlines. the 7.9% unemployment. we'll see no the job growth in the private sector. things takes you 40 plus

months on average to find a job. if you laid off could be on average until next august to get hired. it is an average. it could be longer, could be shorter. what speeds up job growth? we in new normal what we can expect under any economy under any president? this is questions we hope to get to austan and doug, both of them as we watch mitt romney take to the stage in wisconsin. should mention a busy day for mitt romney. a little later on today he has another rally. he will be joined by big names in the republican party. condoleezza rice for example will be with him. bobby jindal, marco rubio, lindsey graham. they will all be at a rally tonight in ohio. first in wisconsin, the speech by mitt romney that his campaign is calling his closing argument for him four days before election day. let's take a listen. >> four more days! four more days!. >> thank you so much.

you got that one right by the way, you have got that absolutely right, four more days. this is a, oh, great experience to be here with you today. this is so exciting. [cheering]. what a great state, what a great welcome. by the way this state will help me become the next president of the united states. [cheers and applause] i want to thank, i want to thank governor walker for that extraordinary introduction. what a great governor you have here. you're very lucky. that took some work. [cheers and applause] senator johnson. thank you, senator johnson, for your help. lieutenant governor kleefisch, thank you for your help. former governor and future united states senator, tommy thompson. thank you. [cheers and applause] chairman reince priebus, a hometown guy and,

hall-of-famer, bart starr, thank you very much. [cheers and applause] old friend here too, ann wall was kind enough to speak here. my son is joining us. my youngest son is campaigning. my boys have been campaigning all over the country. this is a family affair for us. their support means a lot to me and yours, the work you have done, the contacts made in wisconsin over the last month have just blown everybody away. i want to thank you for the work you're doing. that will help us get this victory. [cheers and applause] now, our thoughts today also turn to people in the country that are still recovering, in many cases from the hurricane that hit the atlantic coast. a lot of people having very tough times. i hope you keep them in your thoughts and prayers. if you have an extra dollar or more send it to the american red cross or to the

salvation army or other relief organizations to help fellow americans. we are a nation of generous hearts and those hearts are called upon at a time of crisis like this. i want to thank -- [applause] i want to thank you for all you've done and all you're going to do in the next four days. i very much appreciate being in the home of the next vice president of the united states. [cheers and applause] you know, next to ann romney paul ryan was the best choice i have ever made, i got to tell you. [cheers and applause] now we're just entering thekende campaign and as you know at the obama rallies they're

shouting four more years, four more years. i just heard you, we're shouting four more days, all right? [applause] we're so very grateful to you and to people frankly across the country for all that you've done, for all they have done to give yourselves to this campaign. as you know this is not just about paul and me. this is about america. it is about the future we're going to leave to our children. we thank you and we ask you to stay at it all the way to the finish line because we're going to win on tuesday night. [cheers and applause] you know the closing hours of a campaign have a dynamic all their own. a lot of voters have known for some time who they were going to vote for but there

are others just now putting aside the demands of their daily life and considering how their vote will affect their own life, the life of their children, and of course the course of the country that we love. and we asked them and you, to look beyond the speeches, and the attacks and the ads, look to the record, to the accomplishments and the failures, and the judgements. words are cheap. a record is real and it's earned with real effort. [cheers and applause] real change is not measured in words. real change is measured in achievements and four years ago candidate obama promised to do so very much. but he has fallen so very short. he promised to be a

post-partisan president. but he became the most partisan, blaming, attacking, dividing. he said he would focus on creating jobs. instead he focused on obamacare which killed jobs. he said he was going to cut the federal deficit in half. then he doubled it. he said he was going to lower the unemployment rate, down to 5.2% right now. today we learned it actually is.9%. that is nine million jobs what short of what he promised. unemployment is higher today than when barack obama took office. think of that. unemployment is higher today than on the day barack obama took office. [booing]. he promised to propose a plan to save social security and medicare from insolvency. he didn't. rather than he raided $716 billion from medicare to pay for his vaunted obamacare. [booing] he said he would lower health insurance premiums for the average family.

by $2500 a year by now. actually by now they are now 3,000 higher for an average family. and gasoline, the american family now pays $2,000 a year more for gasoline than when he was elected. of course he also said he would work across the aisle. the most important issues. listen to this. he has not met on the economy or on the budget or on jobs with either of the republican leader of the house or the senate since july. instead of bridging the divide, he made it wider. now how is it that he has fallen so short of what he promised? in part it is because he never led before. he never worked across the aisle before. he never truly understood how jobs are created in the economy. and of course today he is now making new promises. promises he will be unable to keep because he admits that he will stay on the

same path he has been on. the same course we have been on will not lead to a better destination. [applause] and you know this. the same path we're on means 20 trillion dollars in debt in four years. it means crippling unemployment continues. it means stagnant take-home pay, depressed home values and a devastated military. and unless we change course, we may well be looking at another recession. the question of this election comes down to this. do you want more of the same or do you want real change? and we bring real change! [cheers and applause]

candidate obama promised change but he couldn't deliver it. i promise change, but i have a record of achieving it. [cheers and applause] i built the business. i turned around another. i helped put an olympics back on track and with a democrat legislature, i helped turn my state from deficit to surplus, from job losses to job gains. [applause] from higher taxes to higher take-home pay. that's change. [cheers and applause] this is why i'm running for president. i know how to change the course that the country's on. how to get us to a balanced budget. how to build jobs and help raise take-home pay. accomplishing real change is

something i just don't talk about, it's something i've done and what i'm going to do when i'm president of the united states with your help. [cheers and applause] and so to people across america, if you believe we can do better, if you believe america should be on a better course, if you're tired of being tired, then i ask you to vote for real change. paul ryan and i will bring real change to america from day one. [cheers and applause] now i know, i know that when i'm elected the economy and the american job market will still be stagnant, but i won't waste anytime complaining about my predecessor. [cheers and applause]

i won't spend my effort trying to pass partisan legislation that is unrelated to economic growth. from day one i will go to work to help americans get back to work. people across the country are responding to our five-part plan to create jobs. part one as you know is about taking full advantage of our energy resources. [cheers and applause] on day one, on day one, i will act to increase the number of leases and permits to drill on federal lands. [cheers and applause] i will act to speed the approval of the keystone pipeline from canada. [cheers and applause]

i'll revisit coal regulations that were designed by the administration to strangle the industry and instead make sure we can use resources we have in a clean and responsible way. [cheers and applause] you see on day one we will be closer to north american energy independence. [cheers and applause] now, second i'm going to move to boost trade, especially with latin america. i will ask congress for trade promotion authority. that is a power every president has used or requested sense it was created back in 174. all, except president obama. and i will finally designate china as a currency manipulator. it is time for getting trade to work for america. [cheers and applause] now, third i'm going to send to congress the retraining

reform act to make sure that every worker who feels left behind in this economy can get skills and a chance for a good-paying job. and fourth, i will move to tackle out of control spending. i will -- [cheers and applause] now, i have sent congress the first of several fundamental reforms. this first one will be called, down payment on fiscal sanity act to immediately cut, not just slow the rate of growth but cut nonsecurity discretionary spending by 5% and by the way i'm not just going to take office on january 20th. i'm going to take responsibility for that office as well. [cheers and applause]

and number five. number five i will act to boost small business. i will issue executive orders aimed straight at problems that are holding this economy back. the first will grant state waivers from obamacare to begin its repeal. [cheers and applause] the second executive order will launch a sweeping review of all obama era regulations with an eye to eliminating or repairing those that are killing jobs and small businesses. [cheers and applause] and every entrepreneur, every small business person, every job creator, will know that for the first time in four years the government of the united states likes business and loves the jobs and higher wages businesses can bring. [cheers and applause]

we've almost forgoten what a real recovery looks like. one americans can achieve when we limit government instead of limiting the dreams of our fellow americans. that's what a real recovery looks like. [cheers and applause] it's within the power of the american people to choose their own future. we know what we need to know. you can stay on the path of the last four years or you can choose real change. you know that if the president is reelected he will still be unable to work with the people in congress. i mean he has ignored them. he has attacked them. he has blamed them. the debt ceiling will come up again and shut down and default will be threatened, chilling the economy. the president was right says

he can't change washington from the inside. in this case you can take him at his word. and we'll put him outside soon. [cheers and applause] look, when i'm elected i will work with republicans and democrats in congress. i will meet with them regularly. i will endeavor to find those good men and good women on both sides of the aisle who care more about the country than about politics. and together we're going to put the nation on track to a balanced budget, to reform our tax code and to finally reaffirm our commitment to financial responsibility. it can happen. [cheers and applause] and you know, you know that if the president were to be reelected he would continue

his war on oil and gas and coal. he will send billions more dollars to his favorite solar and wind companies and all of this -- [booing] all of this guaranties higher energy prices at the pump and fewer jobs. today gas cost twice what it did when president obama was elected. when i'm elected we'll change course in energy. i know how much energy means to middle income families across the america. we can hold down prices at pump and grow new energy jobs and manufacturing jobs. by the way if the president is reelected he will continue to promote government and demote business. he chose his own jobs council, made up of people he selected from the business community. you know how long it has been since he met with them? nine months. nine months. you see i like business. i dent see it as a necessary evil. [cheers and applause]

i see it as a means for people to fulfill their dreams. yesterday i was with a woman named rhoda elliot in virginia. she has been running her family restaurant business for years. the business has been in her family for 82 years. at its high point she employed 200 people. she just closed it down. and she told me that regulations and taxes, obamacare and the effects of the obama economy put her out of business. and she teared up when we were talking. this wasn't about money. this was about a future for her family, and for her family of employees. i want to help the hundreds of thousands of dreamers like road today. and when i'm president, i will. [cheers and applause]

>> four more days! four more days!. four more days! four more days!. >> you know, you also know, you also know if the president were to be reelected he will say every good thing imaginable about education but in the final analysis he will do what his largest campaign supporters, the public sector unions tell him to do. and your kids will have the same schools and the same results. when i'm president, i will be a voice of the children and their parents. there is no union for the pta. [cheers and applause] i'll make sure that parents

have the information they need to see whether their school is succeeding or failing. and i want to make sure parents also have the choice they need to be able to pick the school where their child has the best chance for success. [cheers and applause] now you and i have watched over these last few months as our campaign has gathered strength, the strength of movement. it is not just size of the crowds. it is the depth of our shared conviction, the readiness for new possibilities, the sense that the challenges are clear and our work will soon begin. it's made me strife even more to be worthy of office, to campaign as i would govern, to speak for aspirations of all americans. i learned as governor of my state that the best achievements are shared achievements. i learned respect and goodwill go a long way and

usually returned in kind. that how i will conduct myself as president. i will reach out to both sides of the aisle, i will bring people together, doing pig things for the common good. i won't just represent one party. i will represent one nation. i will try to show the best of america. [cheers and applause] we will all do our best because at a time like this only the best will do. now throughout this campaign, using every argument he can think of president obama has tried to convince folks that these last four years have been a success. he is so sure of that that he's got one big plan for

the next four years. and that is he wants to take all the ideas from the first term, stimulus, borrowing, rest and then go back and do it all over again. that can be boiled down, that idea could be boiled down to four words. more of the same. i don't believe this is a moment when our big dreams will be satisfied with a small agenda. i will lead america to a better place, where confidence in the future is assured, not questioned. this is not a time for america to settle. we're four days away from a fresh start. four days away from the first day of a new beginning. [cheers and applause] my conviction that better days are ahead is not based on promises hollow rhetoric

but on solid plans and proven you'lls and an unshakable faith in the american people and the american spirit. i believe in america. i believe in the american people. if there is anyone worried that the last four years are the best we can do, if there is anyone who fears that the american dream is fading, if anyone wonders whether better jobs and better paychecks are a thing of the past i have a clear and unequivocal message. with the right leadership america will come roaring back. [cheers and applause] the only, the only thing that stand between us and some of the best years we've known is lack of leadership. that's why we have elections after all. this tuesday is a moment to look into the future and

imagine what we can do. to put the past four years behind us and start building a new future. you saw differences by the way when president obama and i were side by side in our debates. [cheers and applause] he says it has to be this way. i say it can't be this way. he's offering excuses. i've got a plan. he's hoping, he's hoping we'll settle. i can't wait for to us get started. look, americans, americans don't settle. we build. we aspire. we listen to the voice inside us that says, we can do better. a better job, a better life, better life for our kids, a bigger, better country. that better life is out there. it is waiting for us. our destiny is in the hands

of the american people. four more days, four more days and we can get to work rebuilding our country. restoring our confidence and renewing our conviction. conviction and confidence that we're on a solid path to steady improvement. confidence that college grads coming out of school will have a job waiting for them. confidence that the single moms who are working two jobs will have a shot at a better job. on november 6th, we come together for a better future, and on november 7th we'll get to work. [cheers and applause] we'll reach across the street to that neighbor with the other yard sign. and we'll reach across the aisle in washington, to

people of good faith and the other party. there's much more to this than just being our moment. it's america's moment of renewal and purpose and optimism. we journeyed a long way in this great campaign for america's future, and now we're almost home. one final push is going to get us there. we've known, we have known a lot of long days and a lot of short nights and now we're very, very close, and the bridge to a brighter future is there, it's open, it is waiting for us. i need your vote. i need your help. walk with me. [cheers and applause] knock on those doors. get your friend to vote. this is a time of choice for america. a time for a better future. and you and i are going to accomplish it together. let's start anew.

thank you so very much. god bless you, god bless this great country. god bless the people of wisconsin. thank you, used. you guys are the best. thank you. jenna: governor romney giving what his campaign is calling the closing argument in the campaign. speaking 25 minutes before heading to ohio. very important swing states. governor romney saying real change is measured not in words but real achievements. for what it is worth the president also speaking earlier today also picking up on that tone of change, saying that the governor is a talented salesman who is trying to repackage the change of old and make it new. so a lot of conversation about who is bringing in the real change maybe a good question for our panel who are with jon now on the other end of our studio. jon? jon: that's right. they have heard the speeches. let's get a fair and balanced debate underway about the closing arguments.

joining us now, monica crowley, talk show host on the left and julie roginsky former political advisor to new jersey senator frank lautenberg and fox news contributor. assess the closing arguments. both candidates were tougher on their opponents i might have thought they would be close to the election. we have been doing segments it would be a kinder, gentler, windup to the campaign. >> maybe not so much because of close to the election because of what transpired here on the east coast which is horrible tragedy. you might expect candidates to soften the tone a little bit in light of what people are going through. we forget, people living in new york city so consumed by this travesty there is election going on in the rest of the country. they want to hear differences and stark differences. right now it is about getting your base out, your people out to vote. there is not many people left to persuade anymore. it is important to not only say what you will do but say

how you're better than your opponent. jon: interesting how romney seized man tell of change. hope and change was barack obama's theme four years ago. now you have a big change banner on romney's podium. >> this is brilliant. romney is the agent of real change as he calls it. barack obama is the status quo candidate. what a difference four years makes. listen to governor romney i thought it was you powerful it was optimistic speech and happy warrior speech. even though he laid out president obama's broken promises over the last four years he grounded it in a bigger theme of american greatness and american exceptionalism. that kind of big theme with a campaign with big ideas and pro-growth economic policies, tax reform, spending reform, entitlement reform, regulatory reform, when you marry direct policies that will directly affect americans to the bigger idea about big america as opposed to big government america that is

one hell of a tough and strong argument. jon: i give you equal time to respond. >> what monica said actually came to true tuition i say you're absolutely right and let's vote for mitt romney. mitt romney the speech he gave was a hostage speech. republicans will work with me because i'm one of them. they will not hold my administration hostage the same way they held barack obama's administration hostage on jobs, on environment, on economy. every single thing. >> democrats had congressto two years. >> come on, democrats never had a filibuster-proof majority for few months. >> they had total control for two years. >> monica as you know, this republican congress, filibustered more than any other senate ever in the history. you know that. don't come on --. come on let's not let's not, do, let's not nuance the stuff. bottom line is this. you want to hold people hostage. republicans do. now they're saying vote for our guys because otherwise we'll hold the administration for obama. jon: you two will have to

continue discussion for commercial breaks. good discussion, but would you. we'll back with more happening [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare?

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and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. >> also believes he may be in the position to turn the power back on in downtown manhattan today which would, obviously, be good news. jenna: new york governor andrew cuomo trying to bring hope as mmtion in the northeast are opening with the aftermath of this storm. many areas still without water, fuel and electricity. big situation developing here on the east coast. in the meantime, a communications breakdown in the obama administration during the terror attack at the u.s. consulate attack in libya. and officials are installing generators, sorting out all sorts of logistics for those displaced because of superstorm sandy. this is all ahead of tuesday's

election. we're glad you're with us on "happening now." hi, everybody, i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. the new images of terrible destruction, take a look at these from staten island, new york. workers and rescue crews getting a clearer picture of the huge job ahead of them. streets are barely passen for power -- passable for power crews and emergency workers, and the worry of finding gas to fill cars is very real. some 80% of gas stations in new jersey alone are not working. tempers are flaring, policemanning gas lines just to keep -- police manning gas lines just to keep the peace. >> i've been in this line for an hour and a half, so i'm hoping they don't say no gas. jon: but there is hope.

three large navy warships are on their way to help as the pentagon airlifts hundreds of utility workers and their equipment there the west coast to help get a power grid back up and running. david lee miller live from staten island, the area that's been so hard hit. david? >> reporter: jon, many of the people who live here say this is ground zero for the storm damage. take a look here at this marina on the southern shore of staten island, and you can see boat after boat after boat all the way down the street that floated over this fence and landed in the front yard of these homes. some of these won'ts actually float -- boats actually floated halfway up the street here. we'll show you mckee avenue. they floated probably 100 yards if not more. and then there's a utility pole in front of us here, and you can see that it's snapped like a toothpick. and just a few moments ago, jon, one of the residents here told

me that looters are stealing gasoline from the boats because gas is in such short supply. they're also looting the electronics from the boats. residents are very rang ri that that -- angry that there are no police at this location. many here feel their community has been neglected. listen. >> the police had one car the day of the fuel leak, no one else has been here. i haven't heard from fema, the coast guard, no one. and it's just puzzling. i understand there are worse case scenarios down at the beach, or they're still digging out bodies, but it's just amazing that nothing's been done here. >> reporter: now on the scene red cross, fema as well as the city. they have brought in food, they have brought in water, they have brought in generators, but again, many people here say it's simply not enough, and it simply took too long. as for the power, there are still about 55,000 people on staten island waiting for

electricity. a big part of the problem here is that they get their electricity from overhead wires, and con ed has said those type of repairs are going to take longer, possibly as much as one other week. and lastly, many here mourning the deaths of the 19 who died. many people died on staten island than in any other borough in new york city. two of the youngest victims, connor and brandon moore, ages 4 and 2. they were swept away, they were in an suv with their mother, glenda. the suv overrun with water for more than a day there was a frantic search. yesterday the bodies of the two boys were found in a nearby marsh. they expect, jon, unfortunately, that more people died, more bodies yet to be found. back to you. jon: so sad. that story about those little boys is just heartbreaking. david lee miller, thank you. ♪ jenna: well, right now we're going to move to the state that could decide the election four days from now. it's the battleground state of

ohio, and the polls there as we've been showing you are just simply razor thin at this point. we just saw governor romney in wisconsin, he's now headed back to ohio where he's sharing today the state with president obama who's already there. both are chris crossing the state today hoping to convince those elusive, undiseased voters. -- undecideed voters. hi, john. >> reporter: good afternoon, jenna. you can tell how important the buckeye state is. virginia, ohio, wisconsin, ohio, florida, o. governor romney making his closing arguments in these last four days of the campaign saying you've got a choice between change and status quo, leaning heavily on his experience in the private sector and as governor of massachusetts to turn financial situations around, saying that the president doesn't have that sort of experience, he didn't have any leadership qualities or at least experience before he came into this job and that what america

needs right now is a real course change. here's what the governor said. >> i know how to change the course that the country's on, how to get us to a balanced budget, how to help raise take home pay accomplishing real change is something i don't just talk about, it's something i've done. [cheers and applause] and it's what i'm going to do when i'm president of the unite. [cheers and applause] >> reporter: during his prepared remarks, governor romney also said should he become president, he knows the economy will be stagnant when he takes over, but he said, jenna, i'm not going to blame previous generations, i'm just going to drive it forward. jenna: governor romney, as you mentioned his closing argument, but the president had quite a lot to say in ohio earlier today. tell us about what he had to say as well. >> reporter: and quite a lot to say about governor romney really was the focus of president obama's first address here in ohio. again on this riff that you can't trust governor romney. you look at what he said in the past, you look at what he's

saying now, and the two things just don't add up. one of the things he was pointing to was this recent auto bailout ad that governor romney's campaign put out in which he suggests chrysler has sold jeeps to the italians and now want to start selling in china. the obama administration says, whoa, we're not moving jobs to china, governor romney's saying, yes, but for every job created in china, that's a job not created here in the united states. president obama firmly on this tack of governor romney has got a big problem in ohio with voters here. here's what he said. >> i understand that governor romney's had a tough time here in ohio because he was against saving the auto industry, and it's hard to run away from that position when you're on videotape saying the words let detroit go bankrupt. [cheers and applause] but i know, you know, we're close to an election. but this isn't a game. >> reporter: you know, one thing to consider when we're looking at voters here in ohio going forward between now and

tuesday is the evangelical vote. i talked to raffle -- ralph reid who said in 2008 evangelicals made up 30% of the vote here in ohio, 340,000 of them stayed home. he says if we can get a good number of those evangelicals out through this outreach to vote between now and tuesday, that may raise the numbers by 1-3% which in a race this tight, jenna, could make all the difference. jenna: very interesting point for us today, john. we'll continue to watch that angle of the story as well. thank you. >> reporter: thanks, jenna. >> no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. we should lead by setting a high example for civil liberties and civil rights and due process and rule of law which is why we should close guantanamo and restore habeas corpus. i know he'll be able to help me turn the page on the ugly partisanship in washington so we can bring democrats and republicans together to pass an

agenda that works for the american people. jon: well, that was then-senator barack obama promising big change during his 2008 successful presidential campaign. those promises you just heard pretty much went unfulfilled over the past four years including his vow to work with the other side of the aisle. our next guest says if president obama had lived up to his promises, things would look very different right now. fred barnes writing in "the weekly standard," quote: if he had done in his first term what he now vows to accomplish in his second term, he'd be this a far stronger position to win re-election next tuesday. he might have been a shoo-in. fred, you know, people have short memories when it comes to re-election time. take us back to four years ago. what did the president promise, and where do you think he went wrong? >> well, it really starts with the stimulus package that was passed right after he was inaugurated in 2009. he promised republicans they could have some input.

as it turns out, they had none. and what republicans were proposing was a pro-growth tax cut, actually several of them. and now, of course, president obama is now talking about having one again in his second term. he didn't get that in his first term, and he he rejected it, and we've had slow growth and a pretty anemic recovery. he's now promising to really reduce health care costs which his obamacare plan did not do. instead obamacare really had put a damper on hiring and job creation. if he hadn't done that and if he'd been more bipartisan, remember the simpson-bowles commission -- jon: that he appointed. >> which he appointed, indeed, jon. and they recommended what he could do to really tackle the whole deficit and debt problem. he just kissed off their recommendation, didn't do anything. now he's actually talking about simpson-bowles and saying, well, he'll do this in his second term.

but mostly it's what you touched on, he's promised to be incredibly bipartisan. in one of his interviews -- jon: yeah. he told a radio interviewer, i'll wash john boehner's car, i'll walk mitch mcconnell's dog. [laughter] >> you can't get much stronger language than that. and he said he's sure he can get a bipartisan grand bargain with republicans next year. well, you know, they came close to one in 2011, and then he sort of blew it up by demanding more in spending cuts and particularly in tax hikes than republicans would ever accept. so basically he's saying all these things i had an opportunity to do in my first term i promise to do in my second term -- jon: right. and monica crowley just pointed out he had democratic control of the house and senate for the first two years of his term. >> doctor indeed, he did. for instance -- indeed, he did. for instance, take obamacare. he went to great lengths not to be bipartisan. remember, he used reconciliation

so he could get just a majority vote which would pass it in the senate. if he'd reached a bipartisan compromise with the republicans, the world would look completely different for the president now. and he had so many opportunities to be bipartisan, to do things that he's talking about doing in his second term. he had so many chances in his first term. he ignored them or opposed them. my point is if he had seized them, he'd be in a great position for re-election today, not tied with romney. jon: we'll see what happens on tuesday. fred barnes from "the weekly standard," good to have you on. >> thanks, jon. jenna: after taking time out to focus on the devastation caused by sandy, both candidates are back on the campaign trail today. ed rollins and bob beckel join us next on who won the final week of the presidential campaign. that's kind of interesting ahead of who actually won. jon: i think we'll have to have them on on wednesday, because we might not have an answer on was. jenna: that's a good point. plus, also this story, the coast guard makes a difficult

decision. after searching for days for the captain of this tall ship that sank during hurricane sandy, an update next. [ male announcer ] this is sheldo whose long day setting up the news starts with arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news.

jenna: well, an update on a story we brought you earlier this week. the coast guard suspending its search for the hms bounty, the replica of an historical tall ship. fourteen crew members were rescued from the water by coast guard helicopters on monday, but the captain, robin wallbridge, and another crew member washed overboard before they could make it to some of those rafts. the crew member was pulled from the raging seas, later pronounced dead unfortunately at the hospital. the captain yet to be found. jon: inside america's election headquarters now just four days away, your destination for the 2012 campaign as we approach the final weekend before this

election. the final week has been rather unusual for a presidential race, both candidates kind of adjusting their strategy, taking time off from the campaign trail because of that storm that batter ored the northeast and really wide swaths of the country. so which candidate won the week? bob beckel is co-host of "the five" and a former democratic campaign manager, ed rollins has managed many republican campaigns including ronald reagan's run for the white house and no better or people to ask. all right, i guess it's really the last time we can convene and ask this question. next week i expect we'll know by this time -- >> maybe. >> maybe. [laughter] jon: who won the campaign. >> hopefully. jon: but who won the week? >> oh, i think obama won it. the storm played out well for him. it froze romney, and he couldn't campaign when he needed to. obama did his presidential thing, and christie could not have been a better endorser for him, you know, governor of new jersey. i think all in all he won the

week, and plus romney's supposed momentum stalled two weeks ago, the press has finally caught up with it. jon: what about you, ed? >> i'd have to agree. the disadvantage is he had to deal with a crisis with the help of mayor bloomberg and governor christie, he sort of crossed the partisan line. i think romney did well to hang in there this week, but i would say that if i'm going to be honest and not give a spin that, certainly, this was a better week for the president man anybody else. jon: but, you know, the anger and the dissatisfaction is really starting to set in. we've heard the sound bites from people on staten staten island,u know, new york's a democratic state, but a lot of people not happy with the response to this storm. is there going to be any blowback? >> there's a certain amount of that. it's not just the president. everybody at every level of government's going to take part of this. fortunately for obama, it's in states that are pretty blue

states. jon: yeah. the, um, i'm thinking about hurricane katrina which, you know, so many people blamed the response of fema and so forth on george w. bush. >> are well, it was kind of a benign neglect at that point in time. the president, as you may recall, flew over it initially. he had an idiot running the fema who's still popping off, mr. brown. i think fema is absolutely an agency on the ground here doing wonderful things. the end of the day the one entity of the federal government that works better than anybody else is the military, and sooner or later we're going to have to put a general in the charge as we did katrina, let them get all the stuff done. they have the equipment, the resources, the manpower, and we've got a big problem ahead. and three or four days from now this is going to continue to be a burden for a lot of people's lives, and you're going to need to respond. [inaudible conversations] >> fema, this fema under obama has been getting great marks all the way around, but they learned a lot from katrina, you know? jon: as the father of an army second lieutenant, i have to

agree, the u.s. military does its work very well. so let's take a look at the scorecards. we've been doing this for, what, eight, nine, ten weeks now, and we have -- this is bob beckel's scorecard. he gives governor romney the win two weeks, president obama six weeks, and he gave us three weeks of a tie. so, okay, that's about 11 weeks going back. ed gave it six weeks for governor romney, president obama for four and a tie one. basically, a tied election right now if you look at the polls, do you agree? >> i totally agree and when we win next week on tuesday, then bob can buy me a dinner somewhere in town here. jon: can i come too? >> you can come, but you guys are going to be picking up the tab, because we're going to win. i tell you, some states depend on electronic voting like virginia, they're not going to be able to cast all their ballots. they're going to have to cast hand ballot, and they're not used to counting them there,

this election could go way past tuesday. jon: could be hanging chads all over again. >> provisional ballots in ohio. >> fortunately, we control most of those. jon: bob, ed, good to have you on one last time. >> thank you. jon: thank you, guys. jenna: ed, you should ask for a pair of those shoes bob is wearing -- >> i wouldn't be caught dead wearing those -- jon: bob beckel is styling footwear. >> this would help your image. [laughter] jenna: i was impressed, bob. [laughter] all right. much more on the election coming up. both presidential campaigns paying plenty of attention to all the swing states we've been mentioning, but how about the swing state of colorado? the race there very, very close, we're going to break down the latest poll numbers and see which candidates have the edge there. also very important story to so many of you, were counterterror officials left out of the loop during the terror attack in the benghazi? new evidence of a communications breakdown in the administration. we have that report next.

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president obama less than one point ahead in this average of all the polls. allison sherry is a war correspondent for the denver post and is in colorado -- oh, look at the rockies behind you, it looks gorgeous. allison, on the east coast we are dealing with this monstrous storm aftermath, you know, shortage of gas, that kind of thing. what are the issues in colorado right now at this moment, and where does the trend lie for these candidates? >> well, i think momentum for early voting right now is lying with the republicans. there's about a 30% advantage republicans have at this moment. there's about a 1.5 million ballots that have been turned in already and about 540,000 of them are republicans, about

500,000 of them are democrats, and 340 some thousand are unaffiliated volters, so we -- voters, so we have no idea what way they're going. but i think the issues they're caring about, we aren't worried about basements flooding or we're not worried about, you know, not being able to get to work, but people are still every day thinking about, you know, the next four years, are things, are things going to be better than they were the last four years, um, and, you know, they're thinking about, you know, how good they feel today. and that's -- unemployment rates, safety and, you know, do they feel like things are going to go better next time, the next four years is what people are caring about here. jon: we ha -- >> so i don't know what the trend line is. [laughter] jon: well, we're going -- >> it's tied. jon: this is a map, just so people know, this is a map of where the votes were four years ago. for john mccain, john mccain's votes in the red here and this beige color up here.

weld county up here at the top of the state, a pivotal base of conservative support typically. president obama did especially well right here in denver, and i just obscured it with my circling, but up there in boulder county. also pueblo county, he is expected to do well. but the rest of the state, well, what are you seeing in terms of support for mitt romney this time around? >> well, mitt romney's doing really well. you know, last week he had a rally at red rocks where he got, you know, 10,000 people, and then they were turning people away. tried to go see him and paul ryan. this saturday he's got another rally at a big sort of concert arena that holds 18,000 people. the campaign says they're hoping to fill that, they think they're going to fill that. but, you know, last night president obama was in boulder which is a blue area of the

state simply trying to get out the vote at this point. i don't think anyone thinks there's that many undecided voters, so they need every single young voter they registered, and there were 10,000 people there. so we're in the middle of crazy time. there's eight rallies in four days between the four vice presidential and presidential candidates, and each rally is pulling in thousands of people, and i think it's tied, and i think that that's, you know, it becomes, it's still razor thin here, and we just don't know how it's going to go. jon: yeah. >> it could be late tuesday night. jon: i vote for more rallies at red rockings. that is a beautiful place. >> i agree. jon: allison sherry from the denver post, thanks for all the information you've shared with us and we're going to see what happens tuesday, aren't we? >> thank you. yes, we will. thank you for having me. jenna: new signs of a communications breakdown in the obama administration during that deadly attack on our consulate in libya. what top counterterrorism officials are now saying about the murder of four americans in

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jenna: new evidence coming to light on the deadly terrorist attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. national security correspondent jennifer griffin with more at pent gone. hi, jennifer. >> reporter: hi, jenna. senior officials felt cut out of the loop on the night of the attack on the benghazi consulate according to e-mails about discussions

how to respond to the night of the september 11th attack. top state department firms decided not to send an inneragency rapid response unit designed to respond to terrorist attacks known as a f.e.s.t. team, a foreign emergency support team. this team in the cia and state department has a military joint special operations command to it and has been routinely deployed into investigations after is coal and come boggs -- bombing at u.s. embassy in kenya and tanzania. they could have helped they argue, get access to the consulate site in benghazi faster than the 24 days. national security spokesman tommy vitter gave this explanation. the most senior people in government worked on this issue from the minute it happened, that includes the secretary of defense, chairman of joint chiefs, secretary of state, national security advisor et cetera. fox news learned u.s.

military intelligence was reporting early as 7:00 p.m. eastern less than four hours after the attack began that ansar al-sharia carried out the attack on the consulate. the intelligence was relayed to the military with no caveats cording a source familiar with that intelligence. further two state department cables showed stevens's team warned washington or tried to warn washington at 6:43 a.m. in the morning they had concerns that members. libyan police sent to guard them were photographing the compound. this important was photographing the inside of the u.s. special mission and furthermore this person was part of the police unit sent to protect the mission. u.s. intelligence officials tell fox that there were reports from eyewitnesses in benghazi that a libyan militia, a armed libyan mill lash that was gathering three hours before the attack began on the consulate that night on september 11th. back to you, jenna. jenna: more information as we get it.

jenner if, thank you. jon: "happening now", ohio very well could guide who wins the white house. the fox news voter fraud unit is taking a look at what the election firms are doing to preserve the fairness of the system this time around. eric shawn for us live in cleveland. >> reporter: jon we're at the cuyahoga county board of elections. this county has had a troubled past. as you see behind me people are early voting that is continuing. we were here four years ago. again then the story was acorn. remember the scandal dealing with voter registration fraud and example of this guy, freddie johnson, who told us he was registered to vote by acorn 73 times. there have been other issues in the past. missing votes and problems with machines. in 2006, voter cards and voter machine keys were lost. employees who tested the voting machines, they took the machines at home. taxi drivers transported memory cards. they have the votes, to the counted. in 2007, two election

officials were convicted of rigging the 2004 presidential election recount. >> you could say there was systemic break down in 2006 of voting process because some of the problems that occurred. but, evaluating the situation as of today in 2012, i think it's fair to say that that systemic breakdown did not reappear, for example in 2010. >> reporter: cuyahoga county officials say they have really overhauled the system, changed the procedures with more transparency and responsibility. for example, about those memory sticks that the cab drivers carried in the past? now they're carried physically in the a sheriff's car with a democrat and a republican official keeping watch over them to make sure there is no problems. republican and democratic officials and mem, about of the campaigns are also monitors and observed what is going on here.

they say it is very transparent. the director of the election board, jeff hastings told us they have made major strides. have you seen the acorn type problems now? >> no. we don't see those problems. that was, that was, significant. it was objectionable and we needed to put our feet board and we did at this board and across the state and we know what happened to acorn report are the if the race is close it could come down to here for provisional ballots. they don't start counting provisional pool lots until 10 days after the election. if you suspect problems at voting polls where you live, here is our address, voter fraud at foxnews.com. jon? jon: eric shawn in cuyahoga county, ohio. eric, thank you. jenna: as we've been reporting the picture of superstorm sandy is very much coming together as we get new pictures and video from tough to get to places. one such area is staten

island, a borough here in new york city where the destruction is just staggering. joining us on the phone is staten island assembly woman. you're from the area, the eastern part of the island where most of this destruction really is. we've heard a lot of different reports. some turn into rumors. tell us a little bit what your community is dealing with right now. >> the district is completely devastated. there is just, i don't even know where to begin to explain what has happened to this community. it is unprecedented. we have people's houses completely destroyed. they have lost everything, their clothing food, water. we have been out here full force getting people just the basics over the last few days. jenna: are you getting the help you need? >> yeah. it is starting to come together now, i have to be honest first couple days was rough, really rough. now we sent a strong message to the city and stayed officials, federal officials and everyone is coming out

to support us. we have -- on the ground. we have american red cross here. we have numerous organizations. tons of people are donating food. tomorrow we're organizing cleanup. i had 500 volunteers contact me interested in joining the cleanup effort. so it is really starting to come together and i'm really, starting to feel positive about it. jenna: that's a good thing. again we're watching some of these pictures to feel positive at at time like this is no easy task. where, where are the people in the community? where have they gone? are there areas set up to support them? >> some have been evacuated at shelters. the city will make a decision where they will go for here. they can't live in shelters forever. they need to find some type of stable housing. also a lot of them are still in their own homes. i was in -- beach yesterday going block by block. i had a church group working

with me. they are collecting goods. they are distributing food, water and clothing block by block. these people, they have nothing. the basics, blankets. asking for water. jenna: that is what we continue to hear, just the basics are needed right now. again a couple days away from the storm. a big conversation piece and quite frankly very controversial part of this storm is the marathon that new york city is hosting on sunday. the mayor says that the, marathon is on. we know it starts in staten island. curious of your thoughts on that? >> that is absolute disgrace. i don't know how the mayor sleeps at night because the people have nothing. they don't have a bed to sleep in and blankets to keep them warm. they are looking for basics, hot food. they want to take any resource, whether be generators, police officers, any resource away from this community to supervise a marathon is beyond belief.

i just can't believe and fathom this mayor of this city would do that. i'm completely disappoint the. jenna: as bemably woman, nice for you to join us. he willing us -- telling what is happening in your community. >> thank you so much for getting our message out. jenna: we're glad to. the marathon is the largest marathon in the country and in the entire world. it brings tens of millions of dollars into the community of the all this money the city depends on from the marathon as well. a lot of folks are criticizing mayor bloomberg for going ahead with it. it's a tough situation. you can understand the challenges making that decision. jon: the storm already brought economic deprivation to this city and losing the marathon would bring more but at the same time there are police personnel and others. so it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of situation. a hot button issue on the ballot in one state where voters have to decide if they want illegal immigrants to pay the same low tuition as legal

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jon: a hot immigration issue hits the ballot in maryland. voters are set to decide whether children of illegal immigrants pay the same tuition as maryland residents. douglas kennedy has more on that. >> this year immigration reform completely stalled in congress. maryland is set to take matters into its own hands, especially when it comes to illegal students. >> first day was really hard. >> reporter: ricky was at the top of his class in high school. but unlike other high achieving teenagers in maryland, he is barred from receiving in-state tuition rates at the university of maryland. your parents came here illegally when you were 12 years old from el salvador? >> that's correct. since i came to the united states, i live in maryland. i live in maryland for the last 10 years.

i feel fully american. >> reporter: in november maryland voters will have a chance to change ricky's future. a ballot measure will determine whether illegal immigrants can or can not receive in-state tuition at state colleges. mary russell is with the maryland catholic conference. why should maryland allow kids who are here illegally receive taxpayer money for state tuition? >> well i think we need to look at these children as maryland taxpayers. >> reporter: in fact, in order to qualify for the program, students have to prove their parents filed taxes for three years. opponents say the measure encourages illegal immigration. >> it is just another part of the giveaway to noncitizens. >> reporter: opponents of this measure say you are a bad investment because you can't vote, you can't drive a car, and you can't work legally. what do you say to that? >> i'm also a taxpayer and, i would like to say that just want to become a

doctor. i want to contribute to this great society. >> reporter: he says the best way he can contribute is by getting a good education. that's it from here, jon. back to you. jon: thorny questions. i guess the voters will resolve them. douglas kennedy. thank you. jenna: speaking of some thorny questions, the mainstream media is finally starting to take notice of the events leading up to the deadly terrorist attack in libya. why now? what took the media so long and how will it affect the public search for answers? our news watch panel weighs in next. i'm a conservative investor. i invest in what i know. i turned 65 last week. i'm getting married. planning a life. there are risks, sure. but, there's no reward without it. i want to be prepared for the long haul. i see a world bursting with opportunities. india, china, brazil, ishares, small-caps, large-caps, ishares. industrials. low cost. every dollar counts. ishares. income. dividends. bonds. i like bonds. ishares. commodities. diversification.

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jon: right now we're tracking some of the new revelations about the deadly terrorist attack in libya and how it was handled by the obama administration. the story though seems to be pretty much falling off the radar when it comes to most in the mainstream media. why? let's check in with our news

watch panel. judith miller is pulitzer prize-winning reporter and kirsten powers columnist for "the daily beast". both are fox news contributors. we touched on this earlier in "happening now" with jonah goldberg from the "national review." he pointed out in one of his articles, judith, for instance, you know the media made a big deal out of george w. bush's dui conviction two decades, 2 1/2 decades earlier, in the days leading up to the election in 2000. there were other examples that he cited. but nobody seems to care in the mainstream media about what happened in benghazi this left four americans dead. abc news hasn't touched story on "world news tonight" for a week. why? >> i think the story unfortunately has become politicized and it shouldn't be politicized. it should be considered a story. and what's astonishing to me that in the weekend news shows there was no anchor who raised this issue.

they dealt with all kinds of issues from abortion to the election to the storm. nobody was dealing with this issue except for bob schieffer. and only when he was asked about it, when john mccain specifically made a comment about it. it is really stunning. ever so slowly, the mainstream media are beginning to pay attention to some of the conflicting narratives and the questions that have been raised by reporters who are looking at this story. and shoutout to eli lake and to fox news and to the others who have been pursuing it. but we only know what we know about what happened in benghazi not from the administration but from reporting and reporters who have gone on asking those questions. jon: kirsten, do you see it differently? >> no. look, the mainstream media is completely pathetic. there is, it is no longer possible to defend them. there are only a couple of people i can name, jake tapper. yeah, that's it, pretty much.

jake tapper is pretty much only one out there. jon: abc. >> acts as a legitimate reporter anymore. i also think that part of what is going on here is that the obama administration was very successful with their war on fox news. that wasn't just an accident. i think they realize there are great reporters here who are going to hold them accountable. you've had catherine herridge and bret baier and general fir griffin doing really great work, really original reporting on this and you don't see the other networks citing it because they have been cowed by the obama administration who probably is saying, well, you know, you can't trust fox because that has been their whole talking point because they know nobody else will hold them accountable. this is as much of a scandal the way media based actually what happened in libya. jon: judy, you used the word politicization. the obama administration has

essentially cowed many of its critics by saying oh, you can't politicize this tragedy, you can't politicize foreign policy, but the fact when you get ready to go to an election this kind of, of attack and how it is handled, that is politics. you're electing somebody who is, well, how they're going to handle this kind of thing. doesn't it deserve to be considered by the voting public? >> of course it does. and that is why it is such a shame that this is happened and that the media has been coconspirators in letting it happen. you have to ask yourself, you know, it's true, a plurality of americans do not believe that the president and the white house misled the american people about what happened in benghazi. but that is not the same as being about what happened in benghazi and they are not telling us about that and they are -- >> who cares what majority

of americans think. they are not getting any information. >> that's why they think that. >> of course they think that. nobody is reporting on it. when they are reporting on it they're carrying water for the administration. >> i'm just upset as you are. eventually so much has come out about this story the mainstream mead y'all which have to pursuit it and want to pursuit after the elections, no the before. hence the politicization of this story and why it is so damaging and not in america's interests. jon: we'll have to leave it there. judith miller, kirsten powers. thank you both.

jenna: new jersey its calling in the military to make sure people can vote andee leak on election day. they will be using paper ballots. they announced a deadline extension to mail in absentee ballots. a special edition of "happening now" on sunday, if you t